losses of its own. >> i live in massachusetts. i live in western massachusetts. i love about as far as boston as you can get in way and still be in massachusetts, but living in my state means you're in and out of boston all the time. i have friends here. it's place i love. it's a place i never expected to be standing in reporting in front of mass general under these circumstances. during the week i stay in new york city which is another place i love that's seen terrorism up close. tonight mike hays tweeted this picture from new york city. it's from brooklyn. it's a projection from the new york sight light brigade. it's onto the outside of the brooklyn academy of music. it says darkness cannot drive out darkness. only light can do that. underneath this one you can see the lighted letters spell out

l-o-v-e. another slide reads brooklyn loves boston. take that darkness. that does it for us for now. msnbc coverage of the attack today in boston continues through the night. stay with us. thanks. tonight an nbc news special report. after an awful day in boston a womani in bombing at the finish line of the boston marathon. there a mass casualties including children. the latest on what happened and where the investigation stands tonight including the search for a subject as the nbc news special report gets under way. >> it's the best day every year in boston.

it's a holiday, patriots day. the red sox played at fenway park today and ta won. it started off as a great day and then all eyes turned to the fin ish line at the marathon. at 2:50 this amp here again what the boston globe reported at ground level. a sudden blast in front of a crowd of spectators, volunteers and police officers and second later a second blast and the remnants of the scene show a mass casualty event. tonight the death toll stands at three including an 8-year-old. thousands of people pushed through the streets.

we begin with the latest on this night. >> reporter: a sharp bang and then seconds later two blocks away. another explosion. a plume of smoking where who knew what happened. >> we have multiple people down here. i don't know are what the cause is. >> reporter: whatever it was a great many people suffered ghastly injuried. both runners and spectators cheering on the back of the pack. they were rushed in agony to a tent set up to treat not much more than dehydration and exhaustion. >> this is like a bomb explosion that we hear about on the news in background or israel.

>> reporter: witnesses report seeing severed legs and pools of blood. boston's proudest day had been tarnished in unimaginable fashion. >> people's limbs have been blown off. all i knew what to do is just pray. >> reporter: authorities would soon confirm what most people expected but didn't want to here. this wasn't a gas leak. someone had bombed the boston marathon. >> we're asking everybody to stay out of the perimeter. about a 16 block area has been secured. it's a crime scene now. >> reporter: chaos. ambulance teams loading the injured. here on the final mile of a race that had been dedicated to the murder children at the grade school in newtown. >> at first it sounded like a

blast. there were a few people running towards them to help out the injured. there was some bad injuries. some people were badly hurt. >> it was just carnage. i saw a man who lost part of his leg. a device had been exploded pliels awpliemiles away at the kennedy library. that was not true. reports that the authorities ordered boston cell phone service shut down. the rumor was untrue. the phones stayed up.

in cities across the country from los angeles to new york, security and individual lens was stepped up. a bigger uniform presence was added around the white house and pentagon. president obama said those responsible will feel the full weight of justice. >> we will find out who did this and why p they did this. any responsible individuals, any responsible groups will feel the full weight of justice. >> reporter: this evening in boston authorities offered few new details. >> the fbi is taking the lead in this invest sgags. it's criminal that is a potential terrorist investigation. comfortable racing weather for the runners ready to compete for

personal glory or just the honor of it all. it's usually a joyous day off. today someone stole all of that killing and maiming innocence who can never forget the day they ran when the finish line was strong with crime scene tape. >> mat has made his way up to boston. good evening. >> reporter: those patients are in extremely good hands. this is a well regarded

hospital. it's the oldest one level one trauma. i'm joined by three eyewitnesss to this tragedy. i'm happy to say they were not among the injured. thank you for joining us. i know you were making your way around the finish line. how close did you get before the bombs went off. i was about 20 yards away. there was a lot of traffic on the walk right near the finish line. it really slowed me up. we saw the smoke.

we saw people bleeding. it was unlike anything i had ever seen before. >> how quick was the response? how quickly were those people cared for? >> that's something that i had the opposite reaction of those people. most people were running. i just for whatever reason, i just stayed exactly where i was. smast something that will stick with me more than anything else. >> jackie, you're seven months pregnant. you've been having a tough time. how close were you when the bombs went off? >> luckily i had been on the corner of boylston and i was being pushed. i was already scared. >> just because of the large crowd? >> yes. i was being pushed and i went into the chocolate store.

there was a second exit. they weren't letting me through. someone came through and deplanddepland demanded they let the pregnant woman through so she wouldn't be trampled. >> she crossed the finish lieb r line at the same time. >> she turned around and took a picture. it's a minute before the explosion happened. she crossed. she heard the education motion. she got her medal. we were about 15 feet away. we thought maybe the building collapsed but emp started -- immediately we saw sirens starting which let us know that something was really wrong.

we couldn't find my mother-in-law. >> is she okay? >> she's okay. she feels really guilty that she put us through this which is a crazy reaction. don't feel guilty. >> did you locate your wife? >> i did. it's crazy to think she was a few blocks down. on a day that normally is nothing but positive and joyous something positive could occur. >> you ran the race. you were on your way back to the finish line area to plemeet up h a friend. >> i was. i continued to walk and picked up my water bottle and i decided

to go back toward the finish to find my friend who was a couple of minutes behind me. i got within a block and then i saw an explosion of white smoke and the loudest noise i've ever heard in my life. even though i was almost a block away the concussion from that was just stunning. it's disorienting. >> did you know it was a bomb or maybe something accidentally? >> no. it was louder than a cannon or anything. after the second blast it was pretty clear. >> did anything seem suspicious. >> no. >> they weren't even letting a

pregnant person through. i just wanted to get through. there was so much police presence and they were really being vigilant. it was obvious they were paying attention. >> each of you went out of your way to say the volunteers attached to this race were phenomenal post-explosion. >> yeah. one of my lasting impressions from this will be before i turned and started walking away is there's a medical tent about 100 feet beyond the finish line. my lasting impression will be the medical personnel just streaming out of that tent toward the blast site and then the volunteers. they continued to hand out water bottles. they continued to hand out blankets. they put the medals around my neck. >> they gave my mother-in-law her medal right afterward. >> you were all drawn to this iconic event along with about 500,000 people. it would appear that's what drew the perpetrator, the size of the

crowd. does this change your mind set in terms of attending a future event? >> no. this is the greatest sporting event. i'll be back. >> i'm a former new yorker. i can't be scared away. >> absolutely not. >> thank you for joining us. brian, if you're looking for acts of heroism. there are reports that some of the runners, 26.2 miles did make their way to area hospitals and offer to donate blood to help the people who were injured. back to you. >> thanks. we'll see more of you tomorrow morning. all day long our justice correspondent pete williams has been working on this story from

our washington bureau. he has more on it tonight. >> tonight investigators know this attack involved two bombs. how many more is unclear. at least five other packages found on the street were deemed suspicious and destroyed. there were many packages to check because after the explosions many people dropped what they were carrying and ran leaving their packages behind. we have heard conflicting accounts about whether there were some unexploded bombs. some officials say yes. the two other packages that were found that contained some other form of explosives but others say no. several say the two bombs that did go off included shrapnel.

>> people williams in our washington bureau with the latest that's known about this investigation. thanks. during our live coverage during the afternoon today we heard from a lot of eyewitnesss including two journalists with the boston globe. steve silva and david able. they both walked us through what they saw. >> at the finish line getting the late runners. most of those were charity runners. things just going along swimmingly and then boom and smoke just billowed straight up into the air and me and the other photographers immediately ran over there and 20 seconds after that a second explosion

went off in the next corner. both devices were in trash cans. they went off and it was carnage. we had a number of cuts and bruises, cuts. man lost part of his leg. everyone was scrambling. it was a chaotic scene. it turned quickly into a crime scene. i've been living here since '85 and it's always been known as the best day in boston. they turned a beautiful day into a nightmare. >> i was standing on the finish line taking videos of runners coming in when the blast, the first blast occurred about ten free throw where i was standing. we saw a pile of bodies. we saw a lot of horrific things. we saw a lot of blood, a lot of

shattered glass. i still can't get the image a woman was clearly not breathing with her eyes open staring straight up into the sky. it's definitely frightening. we were sunned by the explosion. a lot of people were thinking as often is the case with explosions that it was like a fireworks perhaps, a gun sapp lute f salute for the runners. you had this moment of runners just making it across the distance of the marathon and then suddenly everything changed. i think as soon as i heard and anyone else who heard the second explosion we knew immediately like when we saw the second

plane hit the second tower, we knew immediately this was premeditated and it was a terrorist attack. >> steve silva and david abel both of the boston globe of our thanks to them joining us earlier today and with us tonight, morning anchor at our nbc station, knbc who was in boston because her best friend was running in the race. where were you and what did you experience when the blast happened? >> reporter: we were at the lenox hotel about a half block from where the bombs exploded. we were rating for my friend who had run the marathon to meet up with us. suddenly at 2:50 this massive explosion occurs and we could feel the ground shake below us and everything at our table shook.

we we'll be right backed outside and saw a plume of smoke. nobody knew what happened. nobody knew if there was another blast on the way or if our hotel was going to be a target. one of the gentleman in the hotel rallied us to the back of the restaurant to stay away from windows in case there was any glass that might make its way to all of us. at that point people started running in and out hysterical looking for their loved one, scared. nobody knew what was happening. what was running through my mind is what's going on. where do i need to go? do i need to hide in the basement of this hotel? the boston police told us to

turn off our cell phones to prevent any detonation of bombs. we then just watched the news and we felt pretty helpless at that point. not long after that -- go ahead. >> i was going to just back up to the cell phone point. you were the only person who made this point today when we spoke earlier. you got the sense it was in case of accidental detonation and not because they believe someone among you could have control over one of these devices? >> reporter: yeah. the feeling that we got is police were trying to prevent any potential setting off of any devices, not that it was any of us, but perhaps any kind of cell phone interruption or interference could cause detonation. >> take us to the immediate aftermath when you were allowed to exit. >> reporter: it wasn't about being allowed to exit. we were evacuated in a hurry. the boston pd came in and told

us get out. you're being evacuated. we all hurried out. we were ushered out onto the street and way way from the explosion site. the streets were just flooded with thousands of people who had no idea where to go, what was going on. trying to find their loved ones. i had gotten a text from my best friend so i knew she was all right but she was unable to get past police lines and get over back to the hotel. we spent a better part of the afternoon trying to find her and meet up with her. spoke with people in my travels including two triage nurses who talked me through the gruesome details they went through. >> unfortunately, much more eventful day in the running of the boston marathon than anybody planned on. thank you. it's nice to have you on the broadcast tonight. ann curry has spoken with a

runner who crossed the finish line just seconds before the explosion. >> reporter: among the runners in today's marathon was 25-year-old dan who works at boston university. >> i crossed the finish line about 20 to 25 seconds before everything happened. i whipped around and saw the very thick, gray smoke billowing out. the smoke quickly got up 50, 60 feet in the air. the barricade was blown off. >> did you see casualties? >> from where i was standing after that initial blast i could see there were people hurt. there was blood. i didn't stop to figure it out. it was hard to see. by the time everybody came to

the, the second explosion went off. we all turned and tried to get out of the area. i was running with a friend of mine. i just told her to run. we weren't sure if it was just the beginning of something happening. >> what were you thinking as this was going on? what were you feeling? >> my officiinitial reaction iss an attack. how loud it was, the explosion. it shook the ground. everyone was screaming and running and a lot of crying. it was pretty clear pretty quickly that it was something very serious and very bad. >> i understand you lost some of your hearing or you did initially? >> at first when it went off. i'm still having a bit of ringing in my left ear. i couldn't really hear until we got three or four blocks down the street. it started to come back a bit. it still bothers me a bit.

>> you seem to in a state of shock. >> there's really no other way to describe it. i don't even know what to tell you. it's one of the -- it was the scariest thing i've ever seen. we were 30, 40 yards away from a bomb that went off in boston. there have been reports that a casualty was an 8-year-old boy. i mean, i don't know how to respond to that. it's unbelievable. >> the president said today we will find out who did this and we will hold them accountable. do you have a reaction to that as someone who is so close to these explosions? >> i certainly hope so. i watched the president's speech. i think he said all the right things. i hope they find out quickly. >> are there any words for the person behind this or the people? >> that's a difficult question.

you just hope that justice is eventually served. it's very tough. it's absolutely senseless. i've grown up here. i've lived here since i was 8. i never felt unsafe here. things became very real very quickly. this is boylston street. this is the heart of boston. for this to happen on day like today, honestly the best day of the year in this city, there are really no words to describe it. it's pretty devastating right now. >> did you call your mother? >> right away. they were actually in town. they saw me on beacon street probably 15 minutes before all this happened.

they were initin't initially pi up their phone. i was panicking. i didn't know how widespread this was. i was panicking calling them to tell them i was okay. everybody was fine. thank god. >> ann curry with one of marathoners turned witness today fp if there were silver linings to what happened today in boston, two things. number one it happened just about at the medical tent so there were many medical professionals standing by. they thought they would be treating cases of dehydration and exhaustion. instead they were doing triage of the wounded. number two there's so many first class hospitals in boston, the kinds of hospitals people travel from all over the country to seek treatment at and today they became triage centers as well. lester holt is outside mass general where they had a briefing inside. good evening.

>> reporter: good evening. mass casualties is what hospitals like this prepare for. when the doors opened three very badly injured people came in. they knew what to expect. before the evening was over 29 injured had been received here at massachusetts general who describe the injuries typically a lot of lower extremity issues, bones, tissue damage, shrapnel damage that came from metal pieces not able to identify whether they might be particles that were placed in the explosive or just surrounding debris. nonetheless, he said there were a number of amputations that were acquired here. six hospitals received the injured. all of them describing similar injuries of these lower extremity damages to the victims. dr. peter explained the personal

toll this has taken on those that have treated the injured. >> it's just depressing. we takecare of accidents all the time. they are pretty brave. it's a terrible thing. most patients attitude is do what you have to do to make me better. >> i asked if these are injuries that you stee in a combat setting. he said one of the staff worked in the military in afghanistan and iraq and worked with these kinds of injuries. they couldn't tell us if all have been identified. we know that eight are in critical condition. it's going to be a long night and into the day as well as the five other hospitals that are treated injured. >> thank you very much. lester mentioned the five other

hospitals. one of them, and again one of the best the nation where dr. ron wall is chief of emergency services. he was with us earlier for nbc "nightly news." can you describe the range of types of injuries among the patients that were sorted out and brought to your facility. >> the injuries we saw today were typical blast time injuries that were just described. they were lower extremity issues. a lot of damage to the soft tissue, muscle and a lot of bony injury. we had a head injury and injuries to the face and neck. most were leg injuries. >> your colleague over at mass general mentioned that he had a fellow physician who had done

tours overseas. we've been at war for over a decade. i imagine some of your staff are also combat veterans themselves. did anyone mention that this kind of traumatic injury, you had amputations and shrapnel is the kind of thing we've seen in war zones. >> nobody specifically mentioned it here but i think it's important to know that this is what we do. this is what we train to do. this is what we do every day. we don't do it on this scale and we don't see this exact type of injury but this is what we do and our teams pull together and responded to these multiple casualties in the same way as we pull smaller numbers of teams together for smaller casualties. it was a very impressive scene to see all of the providers worki working together to take care of many badly injured patients.

>> if this kind of thing has to happen, boston is the home to more than one world class hospital. dr. ron walls chief of emergency services after a long and awful day in boston, thank you for being with us. we're going to take pause in our coverage tonight. when we come back the latest on this investigation and the larger question, how do we protect large public events in this country in this era?

think about the scene today in boston. the exemployees iploesive went of a crowd and police officer. so if someone found a way to get an explosive device in there, what does it say about how we can protect our public events in this era? the latest on that prt of tart investigation from chris hanson. >> reporter: in the immediate aftermath of the explosion police are searching for the answer to the obvious question. who is responsible? this from the boston police commissioner. >> if anybody knows of any information that could lead to the arrest or prosecution of the

individual, they should call us. >> reporter: there were two bombs possibly in backpacks that were loaded with metal objects designed to kill and maim. the police commissioner reported another bomb exploded at the jfk library. it turned out to be an unrelated fire. there was no online chatter previous to the bombings. >> we have no information this was going to happen. >> reporter: a white house official called the bombing an act of terrorism. here is what counter terrorism experts is telling us what is likely happening in the investigation. surveillance video from the cameras in the area is being downloaded and reviewed and the bomb material that was recovered is being carefully gathered and undergoing analysis. there's something that will no doubt need to be investigated in the days lead.

how was someone able to plant and detonate explosive devices with all those cameras, thousands of eyewitnesss and plenty of law enforcement. this man says it's easier than you might think. >> in an open society like the united states we are vulnerable. >> reporter: he's now president of a cyber security company called "crowd strike." he says the boston marathon is an event that experts call a soft target. >> it would appear this event would be considered a soft target comparatively speaking to an airport or government building. because of how large it is and how many people would attend it would be more difficult to protect than a biluilding. >> reporter: overseas attacks on soft targets have been attacked.

here in the united states attacks on soft targets have been require. one such exception, the 1996 olympics in atlanta. a pipe bomb was planted that killed two and injured 100. >> how many of these potential attacks have been aborted over the years? >> there's been dozens of potential attacks. the fact of the matter is the department of defense and the u.s. intelligence community and the fbi and homeland security are actively and pursuing adversaries on a regular basis. >> reporter: there have been near misses. in 2010 a car bomb began to detonate but there was no explosion. authorities were able to find and arrest the lone wolf now serving life in prison. ever since 9/11 security experts have worried about public events like the marathon and the super bowl and even the presidential

inauguration. one former fbi intelligent agent told us given the huge presence pre-deployed bomb squad, this investigation could play out very quickly. law enforcement will no doubt look for ways to raise the bar on security protocols around the country. >> we have to disrupt and dismantle organizations that might seek to harm american public. >> with us now michael lighter. he's a former director of the national counter terrorism center. he was in the situation room the night of the bin laden raid. he's a national security analyst for us at nbc news. one of the things i've noticed about the aftermath and the scene today, in one of store fronts, it appears this device

has not even broken through the second of a double pane of windows. that tells me that unlike so many of the explosives and explosions we cover, this perhaps was meant to force the energy out ward. what does that tell you about the type of device? >> it's clear the device was designed to maim and potentially kill people. we can infer that from the size and as pete williams mentioned the bbs and the light that were in it. beyond that we know it wasn't as big or not as sophisticated as it could have been. medium size backpack bomb could be up to 50 pounds and could have a killing radius up to about 150 feet and do real physical damage. these bombs didn't do that. obviously, they were still deadly. >> this is why from new york to l.a. you see the ad campaign, you see the posters with that

phrase, if you see something, say something especially in our post- 9/11 era. i also wanted to ask you about the m.o. what did remind me of bombings in baghdad i've covered, you've witnessed, the initial explosion and the secondary, seconds later as people are running into the fray to help people. >> this is a common technique used by terrorist groups in the past. you have that first bomb, people are scared. first responders, police and fire rush in and there's another explosion. you had about 15 or 20 seconds between the two. that's not normally as long as some terrorists would use in the past. this is relative lly sophisticated. someone was able to plant those

two bombs closely and nar enough apart that would affect different groups of spectators. all of this points to someone that thought this out and was determined to do some horrific damage and they did. >> whether you're trying to figure out whether this is foreign or domestic based, how much do you start by looking at the calendar. today's date, the meaning of today's date. other important dates that are right around this comiining up. in it >> it's factor. the fbi, the cia, the boston police department, their job is collecting a mass of dots. some of that will be the f forensic work, license plate reade readers, reports from overseas

intelligence. what nay want to be careful and what they will be careful about di doing is connecting these dots too quickly. it may turn out that april 15th was very important. they don't want to jump on that until they str a lot more information and can see all the information to draw more final conclusions. >> let's close here at the time of oklahoma city we had barely anybody on the anti-terrorism interest. we've been fighting dual wars. we have a graduating class, military, civilian, intelligence. a huge population to attack today. >> that's exactly right. we have built up 12 years of really in-depth experience at

the local level, federal to dig into these things. just to give you a small example, we at the national counter terrorism center and boston ran an exercise dealing with potential terrorist attacks like this back in march 2011. the response today was outstandi outstanding. i don't know that exercise led to that. this was the sort of training and now the sort of investigation that's been built up over the past 12 years and will be be needed for years to come. >> thank you very much for being with us tonight and for your counsel during the day today during our coverage. we're joined tonight from boston by democrat congressman william keeting. the only member of the massachusetts delegation to serve on the homeland security.

kor congressman, i wanted to hear your expression. what this day and this event means to the character and history of the city of boston on a normal running of the marathon. >> i've been a district attorney. i've been a member of congress for a short period of time. a little over a year ago we were told that the u.s. is less safe than it was since 9/11. those were sobering words. we didn't know this would happen right here in our own backyard in boston. an iconic event that really brings the nation together and brings international countries together to participate in this. it has the markings of a symbolic trararget that a terrot would use. it is tax day. it's april 15th.

that could be a symbol for someone that is a domestic terrorist. we don't know that yet. i'll tell you this from boston, we are renowned for having the best fusion center. they are working feverishly right now. i do feel with the assets of the entire u.s. government the way the president has said he would give us today that we will bring the person responsible to justice. in the city tonight they're not looking that way. they're not feeling that way. we've lost three people. over 120 people are reported injured. there's a numbness in the city not out of fear but out of trauma at this occurring. >> congressman bill keating. a tough night for the city you love. when we come back 26 miles in

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where was i... you couldn't pause a show in one room then start playing it in another. and...i'm talking to myself... [ male announcer ] call to get u-verse tv for just $19 a month for 2 years with qualifying bundles. rethink possible. we're back. in many ways both big and small this year's running of the boston marathon was dedicated to newtown, connecticut, the victims of the shooting there. there was 26 seconds of silence at the top of the race and the 26th mile today was dedicated to

the them and now this and these two tragedies end up linked. >> reporter: today brought another round of heart ache for a tiny connecticut town that's already suffered so much. the 117th boston marathon was dedicated to the victims. each wave of runners had 26 seconds of silence. for some it was personal. >> in a way it's a bit reliving what we felt like on that day and the days after. it was pretty horrific. it's hard to wrap your head around an idea that another horrific event occurs when we're try to commemorate these poor kids and teachers. >> reporter: 26 miles honoring 26 victims. runners in a world famous vent that celebrates life remembering the school children and

educators who died last december. >> our real role as runners is to be newtown strong. >> reporter: lori was a parent mo took part in the marathon. her fourth grade daughter survived the shooting. she met with media before the race. >> we know it's nothing like the pain and suffering that our parents are feeling back home. it's just running but we want our steps to count and we want our parents and family to know that we're here and we're not quitting. we know they can never quit. they're in our hearts all. >> they're goal to support a charity called newtown strong raising scholarship money for the siblings of the children who died. >> when we run that final yards toward the fin tish, we're going to sprint like we ran that doi

day to get to our children. we're going to fly like those kids flew to get out of that horror. we're just going to let it out and run for the freedom and if full on love of life that the kids had. >> reporter: the marathon plan was elaborate. there was a special marker at the 26 mile mark dedicated to the sandy hook victims. in the vip sand a section set aside for families of the newtown, victim victim. and then, this, yet another senseless act of violence in place still raw from its on anguish. >> why would anybody do this? they have to find who did this and take them to justice. >> reporter: tonight a report that one 8-year-old boy had died and multiple other children were injured touched the nerve of place that's yet to heal.

>> it brought back that feeling of making sure everybody you moe is okay. >> amid the prayers few may be as heartfelt from those from this town that's still mourning horrific losses of its own. >> we asked tom brokaw to spend some time with us tonight. he's with us from our washington news room. this of what you and i have witnessed on our shift so far tolgt. what did today conjure for you, if anything, watching it all. >> that's a horrific event. there's so much more we need to know ant it. it was a massive truck bomb by timothy mcvay.

i was in oklahoma just last week and emp said it wsaid it was a terrible price to pay but it look it was beautiful and they have a city motto now. it's one city, one nation, one resolve. they scheduled a marathon for next week ooze a memorial to what happened. tonight they're reviewing safety and security concerns in oklahoma city. >> i hated to marry myself make the point to michael lighter tonight but it's true. we have ten years of ineffect graduates of the school of counter terrorism and investigation. military yifl yan and intelligence. today if you're looking for anything out of this, at least today we're in better shape to investigate what happened to us

than we were ten, 15 years ago. >> no question about it. there's going to be much tougher security sanctions all across the country. we're going have to learn to live with them and get along and go forward and not let thing bring us to our knees. i don't think we can raise those come plapts after what happened. >> this explosion went off between a build pg and police officers. many of whom i'm sure to have been wearing kevlar sbess. if it can get there, how are we

going to protect events? >> that's the point. i've been thinking about my children and grandchildren. you have to go and worry about a device being detonated. that's the price of freedom. so many of these demented people can find on the internet and ability to make a woman and get information for whatever demented or twisted kauds they have in midnight. >> sad note to end on. a sign of our times. tom brokap frw from our washing news room. as we near the end we want to remember efb what we said at the start. this is always the best day of the year. in boston, a global storting

event, a chance for a great city to welcome the world. that's not how it turned out. today backs part of the city, our most- 9/11 era. here is how it played out. ♪ >> guys, guys. no way.

go back. >> up with of the scariest things i've witnessed in any lifetime. >> you just saw chaos. >> one of the first things i thought is we got to get out of here. i thought that more was going to happen. >> just makes you think about are you ever safe. >> this is like a bomb explosion that we hear about on the news in baghdad or israel. >> all i knew what to do was just pray. >> then i sort of went really quiet. you could feel a sense of worry

and panic. >> the great city of boston and the commonwealth of massachusetts all ready a changed place tonight. we thought we could go off the air with a little perspective. our friend the commander, chris hatfield commander of the international space station, the great veteran canadian astronaut

who is fond of taking photographs. he would do it on just about every orbit has tonight taken a photograph of the city of boston mass. he writes a somber spring night in boston. that's as the international space station was flying over the city. maybe a little distance from the tragedy of today, the view from space will help some folks remember our relative size in the scope of all of this. that's our special report for tonight. for our teams covering the story, i'm brian williams. we'll have much more tomorrow morning on "today." your late local news begins now. from all of us here, good night from new york.